Adjustable packing container for frangible plates



Nov. 25, 1958 D. R. LANE 2,861,681 I ADJUSTABLE PACKING CONTAINER FOR FRANGIBLE PLATES Filed March 2, 1955 DAN RY. LANE INVENTOR.

BY 19- M @MJ ATTURNEY United States Patent ADJUSTABLE PACKING CONTAINER FOR' FRANGIBLE PLATES Dan R. Lane, Dallas, Tex.

Application March 2, 1955, Serial No. 491,724

4 Claims. (Cl. 206-62) This invention relates to a shipping container for frangible plates such as glass mirrors and more particularly to a fiberboard container that is readily adjustable to accommodate many different sizes of frangible plates without requiring tools, padding or the like.

Reliable shipping means for shipping plate glass articles which will avoid damage are not readily attained without use of cumbersome structures each of which generally must be specifically detailed to accommodate a given sized article. Rigid wooden crates have frequently been employed which, together with complicated strapping or fastening techniques, have approached the desirable standards insofar as safety is concerned, but are cumbersome. The present invention provides a fiberboard container that securely supports a frangible article without requiring complicated fastening mechanisms or procedures, and yet fully protects the glass article from damage. The plate may be readily loaded from the side with the article in a vertical position. Furthermore, the container itself may be shipped while flat and then completely assembled without the use of any tools.

More particularly in accordance with the present invention there is provided a corrugated shipping container for frangible plates which comprises a pair of shallow rectangular telescoping fiberboard trays together with two pairs of inserts having lengths corresponding with the length and width respectively of said trays and of width equal the depth of said trays. The inserts are each characterized by complementary notches along one edge which extend to a center longitudinal line permitting the inserts to be interlocked to form a rectangular frame or bay adjustably smaller in length and width than the trays, and which is adapted to register snugly in one of said trays. Four corner padding strips equal in width to the depth of said trays are embossed normal to the length thereof at points therealong to permit bending into the form of a rectangle which is small compared to the size of said trays. Each such rectangle is slit at the center along two adjacent sides thereby adapted to receive corners of the plate glass article to be shipped and to register in the outer corners of the bay formed by the four adjustable inserts. With such structure the trays may be telescoped to form a closed box fixing in place both the adjustable inserts and the corner padding strips which are carried by the frangible plate.

In a more specific aspect the adjustable inserts are notched at spaced-apart points having a predetermined relation to standard sizes of frangible plate articles thereby to conveniently receive a plurality of different sizes by selectively interleaving the notched inserts.

For further obiects and advantages of the present invention and for further understanding thereof reference may now be had to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of the shipping container;

Fig. 2 is a view of a corner padding strip;

Fig. 3 is a view of a corner padding strip folded and in place at the corner of a glass plate; and

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Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the corner construction of the fiberboard trays.

Referring now to Fig. 1 a lower rectangular tray 10 is conveniently formed from a flat fiberboard sheet. Corners such as at lines 11 and 12 are embossed in the fiberboard sheet. Ends 13 and 14 are interlocked with sides 15 and 15a to form a relatively shallow tray. Construction of the corner of the tray is perhaps best seen in Fig. 4 wherein an extension 16 of side 15 extends along end 13. The flap of end 13 is folded as at corner 17 into the inside of the tray thereby securely locking the corner. The tray 10 may be of any convenient size but preferably 1 of standard sizes having inside dimensions of, for example,

24" by 36", 30" by 40", 36" by 60", or 40 by 54".

An adjustable insert structure including notched insert strips 20, 21, 22, and 23 are employed to impart rigidity and a support for plate articles to be shipped. A plurality of notches extend from one edge such as the upper edge 25 of insert 23 to the center line 26. Notches such as notch 27 are provided at uniformly spaced points along the length of insert 23. Similarly strips 20, 21 and 22 are provided with notches. The insert strips 2023 are preferably relatively heavy fiberboard strips having a thickness of about one-half to three-fourths of an inch. The notches such as notch 27 have a length equal to the thickness of the inserts. By this means the inserts may be interleaved or interlocked to form rectangular inner enclosures or windows of many different sizes Within the limits of the tray 10. When interlocked as shown in Fig. 1 the insert structure may be placed inside tray 10 with the ends of the insert strips bearing against the sides of the tray 10. The insert structure has a height exactly equal the height of thesides of tray 10. I

The window, or inner enclosure, formed by the inserts 2023 is selected as to be substantially complementary in size to a frangible article to be shipped such as a plate of glass 30. Plate 30 is to be positioned in the window formed by inserts 20-23 by means of four corner padding strips which form the only actual contacts with the glass, and position the glass at the center of the tray 10. Referring to Fig. 2, each corner padding strip has a width equal the width of the insert strips 2023 and of sufiicient length to form, when folded, a rectangle whose sides are slightly greater in length than the width of the strip. Corner strip 31 is embossed as at points 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and 37, perpendicular to the length thereof to divide the strip into seven sections thereby to facilitate bending into rectangular configuration. The portions 38 and 39 form two adjacent sides of the rectangle and such portions are slit along a center longitudinal line and are embossed along parallel lines 40 and 41 which are disposed on opposite sides of the slit. At each of the embossed lines 32, 33 and 34 the slit is forked, deviating from the median line to extend out to each of the embossed lines 40 and 41 thereby to permit the fiberboard material adjacent the slit to bend to accommodate and to grip the corner of the plate glass. Sections 45, 46 and 47 are of such length as to form sides of a rectangle. Section 48 is of length substantially equal to the square root of the sum of the square of the lengths of the sides of the rectangle to form a diagonal of such rectangle. The diagonal section 48 is slit along a central longitudinal line and embossed along lines 50 and 51. The slit extends outward thereto at embossed lines 36 and 37 to accommodate the corner of the glass.

,shipping prior to use as a container.

3 sides 46 and 47 A layer 55 of adhesive or gummed tape encircles sides 31 and 46. A layer 56 of tape similarly encircles sides 45 and 47 to maintain the rectangular configuration.

Four corner padding units such as shown in detail in Figs. 2 and 3 are employed for each frangible plate to be shipped. As shown in Fig. 1 corner pads 60, 611, 62 and 63 are slipped over the corners of the plate 30 with the exterior thereof, as indicated by the dashed lines 65 complementary with the inside dimensions of the window formed by adjustable insert strips 2023.

With the insert structure then placed in tray and the corner pads placed over the glass 30 the latter assembly may be placed inside the window formed by strips 20-23 with the edges of the corner strips 6063 resting on the bottom of tray 10. The edges of the plate 39 bear against the inside of two walls of each corner tube. The outer surface of such walls bear against the strips 2023. Thereupon the lid or upper tray 70 may be telescoped over lower tray 10 to complete a rigid packing assembly completely to protect any frangible plate placed therein from any hazards ordinarily encountered in conventional shipping practices.

In using the present invention it will be preferred to load plate glass 30 into complementary window with the tray 10 and the adjustable insert structure setting on one edge rather than when lying flat as shown in Fig. 1. This permits handling the frangible plate 30 in an attitude of greatest strength and thereby minimizes hazards in loadmg.

It will now be seen that a plurality of different plate sizes may be shipped in a single container by merely interleaving additional notched inserts in the structure shown in Fig. 1 at the appropriate points and then providing corner padding strips for each of the plates to be shipped in a single container.

The above described structure lends itself readily to Both the trays 10 and 70, formed from blanks, may be shipped only after notching the corners and embossing the blanks at the points the sides are to be bent. The notched inserts 2023 and the four strips for corner pads 60-63 may be laid thereon side-by-side to form a flat package which, when suitably wrapped or otherwise secured together, is ready for shipping.

Having described certain specific embodiments of the invention it is understood that further embodiments may now suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and it is intended to cover such modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination comprising a frangible rectangular plate, a pair of shallow telescoping fiberboard trays, struc ture forming an inner bay inside said trays of configuration corresponding with said plate and of depth corresponding with said trays and for positioning said bay spaced from the edges of said trays, a pad for each inside corner of said bay of thickness equal said depth and with slots centrally thereof through which corners of said plate extend to form with said plate a unitary structure in said bay with said plate parallel to and intermediate the walls of said trays.

2. A blank for forming a corner protector for packing frangible plate articles comprising an elongated fiberboard strip embossed along lines perpendicular to the length thereof at spaced points to divide said strips into seven sections with sections, one, three and five similar in length and sections two, four and seven similar in length with section six substantially equal to the square root of the sum of the squares of the length of sections one and two, sections two, three and six being provided with central longitudinal slits extending the length thereof and in alignment one with another whereby, when folded along said embossed lines to form a rectangular tube with one diagonal, aligned slots are provided in two sides and in said diagonal thereby adapted to receive and protect frangible articles.

3. A package comprising a rectangular fiberboard box, corner supports for said box, each comprising a rectangular tube having a first transverse opening along the entire lengths of two adjacent sides midway of the ends thereof and further characterized by having a diagonal panel with an opening in a plane common to the plane of said first opening, each corner support having multilayer sides opposite the sides having said first opening, means forming an inner bay in said box, including means for supporting said bay in a predetermined spaced relation with respect to the walls of said box, means for adjusting said bay, and means having portions received in said openings and positioning said corner supports in fixed relation in the corners of said bay, whereby outward directed forces normal to the axes of said tubes will be opposed by the multilayer Walls opposite said openings.

4. A package comprising a rectangular fiberboard box, corner supports for said box, each comprising a rectangular tube having a first transverse opening along the entire lengths of two adjacent sides midway of the ends thereof and further characterized by having a diagonal panel with an opening in a plane common to the plane of said first opening, each corner support having multilayer sides opposite the sides having said first opening, interlocking strips forming an inner rectangular bay in said box including means for supporting said bay in a predetermined spaced relation with respect to the walls of said box' and for adjusting said bay, and means for positioning said corner supports in fixed relation in the corners of said rectangular bay in fixed relation thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,196,320 Weber Aug. 29, 1916 1,842,034 Lewis Jan. 19, 1932 2,060,158 Black et a1. May 7, 1935 2,256,995 Andres Sept. 23, 1941 2,382,240 Lesavoy Aug. 14, 1945 2,733,851 Van Ness Feb. 7, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 79,762 Norway Feb. 18, 1952 

